A few years ago, our family ventured back to Woodloch Pines Resort, for the third time. Thumbing through photos from past trips brought back memories because all of the kids were so much younger then. Sure it sounds cliche, but with kids its funny what a difference a couple of years can make. Fortunately for us, Woodloch was the one thing that remained the same. In fact, we remembered some of the same staff from our trip in 2015!
The variety of activities offered to guests by Woodloch are so expansive that it is almost impossible to complete all of them in one short weekend. We were going to try our best to check all the boxes. We arrived late on a Friday evening, and the kids were itching to explore the grounds. They remember the bumper cars from our previous trips, so that was our first stop. It was pretty cool because this time Gemma was allowed to drive alone on the bumper cars. As it turns out, she was probably one the better bumper drivers in the family! After a couple of rounds on the bumper cars, we hit the arcade before calling it a night.
In previous Woodloch excursions, we always stayed on the property. Now that the kids were a little older, I decided to venture out to the surrounding area. Since winter started, we’ve been trying to log as many days on the slopes as possible. I picked up some lift tickets for Ski Big Bear, which was just twenty minutes away from the resort.
On Saturday, we woke bright and early, suited up in our ski clothes, and walked to the dining room at the main lodge for breakfast. With the fun activities or live entertainment, meals at Woodloch are always a treat. What steals the show during breakfast is their unlimited hot fresh crumb cake! I’m typically not a sweets person, but I am usually a two piece minimum with this cake. 🙂
Next, it was off to the mountain. Ski Big Bear offers 18 trails, 7 lifts including 2 Magic Carpet lifts, with 650′ of vertical. They receive about 50 inches of snow each year. Even if Mother Nature is not delivering freshies, they have some of snow makers. The fact that the mountain isn’t too big was right up my alley and perfect for families. I didn’t feel overwhelmed on some of their tougher trails (which ranged from beginner to double black diamond). The temps were super cold, but the kids didn’t seem to mind one bit, because we actually stayed on the slopes until the last chair.
Heading home from Ski Big Bear, we drove past the cutest winery, Three Hammers, along the road on the approach to Woodloch. We stopped for wine tasting, and surprisingly the kids had a blast, watching some live entertainment and noshing on a cheese plate. We were surprised that we hadn’t stopped there last time, but turns out they just opened last summer. I bet they have some fun outdoor festivities in the summer time.
Back at Woodloch, the kids were dying to go swimming. We went to the indoor pool, hot tubs, and indoor spray ground before dinner. There’s nothing like a nice soak after a long day on the slopes, and its not often the kids can romp around in a fun pool area like this.
After our showers, it was off to dinner. I mentioned that meals at Woodloch are always a treat, and this was no exception. The theme was the 1990s, so it was tunes and a character parade to celebrate the decade. Pokemon, Pocahontas, Batman, Judge Judy, one of the Power Rangers and more all came out of retirement for the night. The kids got an absolute kick out them!
After dinner, we explored another game room with mini bowling. This area was a new addition from our previous trips. Based on the number of frames we bowled that evening, it was a welcome addition at that! I can’t remember the last time we all bowled together, so that was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
Before heading out on Sunday, there was still lots of other activities we wanted to check out. The pop up petting zoo and outdoor Go Carts were at the top of the list. Siella and Gemma could have stayed playing with the animals all day, but Ryder was relentless about getting over to the Go Carts, because he wanted to “pick out the fastest car.” Hilarious, he actually ended up going on five races in a row. Meanwhile, Gemma was off on the smaller version Go Carts, where to our surprise, she was permitted to drive solo. Again, not a bad driver, that five year old!
Considering Woodloch was the first place we had ever snow tubed as a family, we couldn’t leave without a run or three! There are different tubing terrains on the property. A small hill, ideal for young families is located behind the main lodge. The more “Extreme Tubing” run is located further down the property, near the Go Carts. Naturally, we had to try out both courses. Gemmie was a little too young for the extreme hill, so she hung in the arts and crafts room instead. Wow, that was a lot of activities, and we didn’t even have time for archery, ice skating, or the indoor forest playground. I guess we have to save those for next time.
I received so many DMs while we were at Woodloch, asking if it would be a good choice for their families. My answer to all of them was simple- Woodloch is just good old family fun. A place to reconnect, be yourself and have fun!
This post was originally published February 20th, 2019.
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21 thoughts on “Family Time In The Mountains”
Literally the one thing that gets me through the winter is knowing that I get to play in snow hahah Looks like a lush getaway with the fam
Oh wow! You literally could not have had a bigger variety of things to do! I mean, skiing, bumper cars, and Pokemon? Seriously. Awesome.
You guys looks amazing and so happy! Love the pictures and the ski resort looks like so much fun. Awesome!
It looks like you guys had the best time. These are the types of trips I hope that my family can take in the near future.
Wow, it’s look so fun, your family really enjoyed it. Hope I can bring my family with me in a trip like that too.
Looks like you all had the best time there! I love doing family mini vacations like this.
it looks like everyone had a blast! i’d love a winter getaway like this
You guys had an enjoyable experience. What a nice way to relax and have fun!
This looks like such a lot of fun and a great experience for all the family. I love doing things with the family like this.
Wow! This place really does have something for everyone! Looks like a lot of fun; my kids would really enjoy that place!
This place looks magical! I wish we had something like this on the West Coast! Tahoe is close by, but doesn’t have quite as many thrills as this place!
I hate cold weather, but I could be down for bumper cars and Pikachu. 🙂
What a great getaway in the mountain with snow and so much more. We never have any snow over here and is always warm. Seeing snow is very luxury thing for us. There is an indoor skiing place but it cost a lot to pay to go in to experience the warm clothing and the fake snow or ice. To see the real natural snow in your pictures are a dream.
Oh wow, Such a fun experience you had. The kids really enjoyed your family getaway!
What a great family experience. Looks like a fun place for the kids. Quality time is really important.
Awwww looks like y’all had one fabulous time!!! I just love hitting the mountains with the family. Always a blast
This looks like so much fun! You are making some wonderful memories with your kids! 🙂
This looks like a fab holiday. I want to take the kids skiing and love that there is other things to keep them entertained too
Family time is what really matter! It looks like all of you had an awesome time in the mountains.
What a great family trip! Woodloch looks fab for kids – I don’t have children myself, but will share this post with a few of my friends who do. I am sure they’ll find it very useful x
This looks like such a fun family trip! I’m always looking for new places to go with my family and this looks like it would be such a great experience.